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<strong>Child</strong> PornograPhy First report oF the Dutch NatioNal rapporteur
Service. 364 In addition, the Implementation Provisions concerning the detection and prosecution in
relation to sexual abuse (‘Implementation Provisions concerning public decency offences’) also play a
significant role. The latter Implementation Provisions contain policy rules with regard to the detection
and prosecution of sexual abuse in general and sexual abuse within dependency relationships, as well
as policy rules regarding the treatment of people who report sexual offences. 365 The previous Implementation
Provisions concerning child pornography of 2007, which were in force until the end of 2010,
placed a greater emphasis on pre-adolescent pornography, child pornography involving violence, child
pornography involving an ‘obvious dependency relationship’ and the large-scale distribution and commercial
production of (post)adolescent child pornography. The latest Implementation Provisions, which
came into effect on 1 January 2011, no longer make this distinction. The distinction between children
and adolescents has been deliberately removed from the new Implementation Provisions, because the
impact of child abuse is high for children of all ages. 366 The national coordinating public prosecutor in
child pornography cases states that “the number of cases in which adolescents are involved is increasing,
in part due to the introduction of webcams and mobile telephones.” 367 In the current Implementation
Provisions, a number of assessment criteria are discussed extensively in order to be able to determine
whether any given material constitutes a criminal offence, as referred to in Article 240b of the Dutch
Criminal Code. 368 The new Implementation Provisions concerning child pornography (2011) do state
that in the detection and prosecution of child pornography offences, the primary focus should be on
364 Implementation Provisions concerning child pornography (Article 240b of the Dutch Criminal Code),
2010A025, Dutch Government Gazette, 2 December 2010, no.19121.
365 The Implementation Provisions concerning the detection and prosecution in relation to sexual abuse
(2010A026, Dutch Government Gazette 2010, no. 19123) contain regulations that apply mutatis mutandis
to child pornography cases, unless stated otherwise in the Implementation Provisions concerning
child pornography. The care of victims is the subject of a separate paragraph in the Implementation
Provisions concerning public decency offences, in which reference is made to the Implementation
Provisions concerning the care of victims (2010A029), Dutch Government Gazette 2010, no. 20476.
366 Public Prosecution Service, 2011, available at: www.jaarberichtom.nl/jaarverslag-2010/typeinfo.cijf/
aDU1045_Landelijke-expertisecentrum-kinderporno-vroegtijdig-ingrijpen.aspx (viewed 20 June 2010).
See also §1.4.3.
367 Sexting involves the sharing of sexually explicit images by means of electronic technology (mobile
telephone, internet), see §1.4.3. The Implementation Provisions concerning child pornography do not
include an implementation provision with regard to the phenomenon of sexting. Nevertheless, in view
of the growth in the extent of this phenomenon, this deserves consideration, see also Weesepoel, 2011.
368 The latest Implementation Provisions also differ from the previous Implementation Provisions on
a number of other points. This is related to the fact that the legislation regarding the approach towards
combating child pornography has been adjusted several times over the past years in terms of
the sentence carried, and has been extended as a result of new legislation regarding the criminalisation
of grooming. Abusive images involving children are distributed primarily via the Internet. The
Implementation Provisions therefore also place a great emphasis on the handling of seized material,
Implementation Provisions concerning child pornography (Article 240b of the Dutch Criminal Code),
Dutch Government Gazette, 2 December 2010, no.19121. Furthermore, it is striking that the Implementation
Provisions concerning public decency offences do not make reference to the seizing of data storage
media or material, whereas it is precisely in cases of sexual abuse that this can provide important
indications which may increase the likelihood of detection.